June 1st-7th marks Volunteers Week – a chance to celebrate and say thank you for the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.
Last year, as part of our 50 Good Deeds campaign to mark our 50th birthday, many of our wonderful team helped out at good causes across the region. Some sleep rough to raise money for Simon on the Streets, others visited children’s hospitals in full Star Wars costumes, and some gave their time to the Harrogate Homeless Project, providing an extra pair of helping hands.
However, because we have such a fantastic and thoughtful team, that’s not where it ends. Many of our staff give up their time on an ongoing basis to help lots of good causes around the region. And we couldn’t be prouder of them!
So, to mark Volunteers Week, we thought we’d profile the lovely Wendi, who many of you might recognise from our Wakefield self storage centre, and introduce you to what she likes to do in her spare time…
Wendi, who lives near Wakefield, has been volunteering for a charity very close to her heart for an impressive two decades! She volunteers for the Cinnamon Trust – a cause she chose because of her love of animals. The Cinnamon Trust is a national charity which works with volunteers across the UK. The Trust was founded almost 35 years ago with its primary objective being to respect and preserve the treasured relationship between owners and their pets.
Volunteers help assist the terminally ill and elderly with their pets – for instance dog walking or taking a pet to the vets, or even short term fostering if the owner is in hospital, or very poorly. Volunteers can take pets into their own homes and supply love and care in abundance until owner and pet can be reunited – a great comfort to those who may not have anyone else to rely on. A national network of over 15,000 community service volunteers has been established to provide practical help when any aspect of day to day care for a pet poses a problem.
Wendi has done much during her 19 years with the Trust – in the past walking dogs daily and helping transporting pets to foster homes. At the present time, she is walking a miniature poodle called Missy a couple of times a week for an elderly lady called Judy.
When we asked why she thought volunteering was a good idea, Wendi said: “Volunteering at the Cinnamon Trust is an opportunity for me to make a difference to someone’s life. The lady I am helping at the moment is not mobile enough to walk Missy and without me Missy would not receive the exercise she needs. This would lead to both owner and pet being stressed and anxious, so it’s nice to know I’m offering genuine assistance. Whether you’re volunteering to give something back to the community, to do something you love, or to help someone going through a difficult time, I think it’s good for you as an individual. It certainly makes me feel good about myself seeing Judy’s lovely smile when I turn up at the house, and also how happy Missy is too when she is out on her walks.” If you’d like to find out more about volunteering at the Cinnamon Trust go to: https://cinnamon.org.uk